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Giants don't dwell on losing Series advantage

Giants outfielder Hunter Pence discusses his third All-Star appearance and the importance of team chemistry during the game

By Chris Haft
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MLB.com |

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Giants will digest the result of Tuesday's All-Star Game. But they won't let it sicken them.

The American League's 5-3 triumph meant that the Giants won't have home-field advantage if they reach the World Series. Matters were different in 2010 and 2012, when the National League's All-Star Game victories enabled the Giants to play their first two Series games at home. San Francisco won all four of those games en route to a five-game conquest of Texas in 2010 and a four-game sweep over Detroit in 2012.

Of course, the Giants still face the monumental task of reaching the World Series. That's why their active All-Star representatives, right fielder Hunter Pence and right-hander Tim Hudson, refused to dwell on the AL's edge in October that was forged here in July. Looking past the postseason's preceding rounds would invite defeat long before the World Series.

Pence, who entered the game in the bottom of the sixth and went 0-for-1, praised the AL's effort.

"They earned it," he said. "That's the rules. I think it's great.

"This doesn't mean that the American League immediately wins the World Series."

Hudson, who didn't pitch in the game, acknowledged the impact of the AL's victory but didn't consider it a be-all, end-all factor.

"Home-field advantage [in the postseason] is a big deal. That's why the All-Star Game has been so important the last few years," he said. "For us, we have to get there, then try to make the best of it."

Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Haft-Baked Ideas, and follow him on Twitter at @sfgiantsbeat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.